Pierre-Jean Villa : Tildé 2021

Tasting characteristics and advice for Pierre-Jean Villa’s Tildé 2021

Tasting

Color

The color shows a deep ruby red hue with violet highlights, reflecting the wine’s youth and concentration.

Nose

The nose reveals fine aromatic complexity with notes of black fruit (blackberry, blackcurrant), accompanied by floral hints of violet and sweet spices. Touches of licorice complete this elegant, refined bouquet.

Palate

The attack is supple, marked by lovely freshness and a straight, well-defined structure. The palate reveals a silky texture carried by fine, well-integrated tannins. Granite-driven minerality brings tension and length, creating a harmonious balance between fruit and minerality. The persistent finish suggests excellent aging potential.

Food and wine pairings

This Saint-Joseph is an ideal match for herb-roasted leg of lamb, a beef stew with seasonal vegetables, or stuffed eggplant with meat. Its elegant structure and spicy notes also harmonize with dishes featuring black olives.

Serving and cellaring

Tildé 2021 is best served between 14 and 16°C. This wine can be enjoyed now, but it also offers cellaring potential through around 2033.

An elegant, mineral Saint-Joseph from the Northern Rhône Valley

The estate

Passionate about wine, Pierre-Jean Villa began his career by marketing Burgundy wines and then, from 1992 onward, managed the production and distribution of leading Burgundy estates such as Mommessin and Clos de Tart. In 2003, he joined the Domaine des Vins de Vienne in the Rhône Valley, a human adventure launched in 1996 by Yves Cuilleron, Pierre Gaillard and François Villard.
In 2009, Pierre-Jean Villa founded his own estate in his hometown of Chavanay, on the steep terraces of Saint-Joseph and Condrieu, with the ambition of producing great wines that express, with authenticity and precision, the richness of these terroirs as well as the winemaker’s ethos.
From a vineyard farmed according to organic principles, the wines produced by Pierre-Jean Villa—“ one of the most gifted winemakers of his generation ” according to Bettane & Desseauve—are renowned for their freshness, generosity, finesse and extreme precision.

The vineyard

The Tildé cuvée comes from plots located within the Saint-Joseph appellation, on the right bank of the Rhône. The Syrah vines, around 40 years old, are planted on granite soils on steep hillsides. These terroirs of schist and gneiss over a granite base give the wine its signature minerality and tension. The moderate continental climate, marked by hot, dry summers, favors optimal ripening of the grapes. Harvesting is done by hand, allowing rigorous selection of fruit at perfect ripeness.

The vintage

The 2021 vintage in the Northern Rhône Valley was shaped by contrasting weather conditions. After a harsh winter with episodes of frost, spring allowed flowering under favorable conditions. Summer brought rainy periods in June and July, followed by unstable weather through mid-August. Nevertheless, end-of-season conditions made it possible to reach satisfactory ripeness, yielding wines of lovely intensity and remarkable balance.

Vinification and aging

The grapes for Tildé 2021 are completely destemmed after the manual harvest. Maceration lasts around 20 days in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks and 500-liter demi-muids. Aging continues for about 12 months in oak barrels, with a carefully managed proportion of new wood to preserve the expression of fruit and terroir. The blend is finalized six weeks before bottling. Vinifications are carried out with indigenous yeasts, following a minimal-intervention approach that respects the lunar calendar for racking and bottling operations.

Grape variety

Syrah (100%)